My 2012 paddle season has started off once again with a trip to Chile. This time my focus was my company ‘Whitewater Chile’ which organizes and hosts kayak vacations in Chile. I have been running trips in Chile for the last 10 years and this year a great crew joined me for a 2-week adventure. Teaming up with international guide Logan Grayling, our plan was to travel from Santiago south to Puerto Montt while catching as many rivers as possible along the way! We managed to paddle 14 out of 15 days and our first paddle destination was one of Chile’s most popular, Rio Maipo.

After collecting the team at the airport hotel we loaded the vehicles and headed for the mountains of the Cajon Del Maipo. We set up base at Las Cascadas De Animas, which is a campsite, lodge, and rafting outfitter owned and operated by Chile’s pioneering Astorga-Moreno family and has been in continuous operation since 1840. From our new base we spent the next 2 days getting comfortable in our boats and logging some time on the water.

The Rio Maipo is a true gem of a river in Chile. It flows all year round and has whitewater ranging from Class II through Class IV. It is a brown flowing river, which makes it unique from other rivers in Chile. It can be divided into many sections, with rapids that can be scouted from the road. If so desired, you can paddle as much or as little of the river as desired. You can paddle the entire 30 km Rio Maipo all the way to Las Lajas or take-out at any of the locations along the large section of whitewater. The Rio Maipo has normally high levels in November through December, dropping all throughout the season to low water in March. Average flow is 2000-3000 CFS.

Stay tuned to follow the adventures of team Whitewater Chile as we continue to move south and paddle….For more info on the River of Chile check out www.whitewaterchile.com and find the guidebook ‘Whitewater Chile’.

Tyler Curtis

After a great visit to ZOAR and the Deerfield River I headed for the US Nation’s Capital of Washington DC and home of Potomac Paddlesports. With the recent rains in the east from the continually approaching Hurricanes the river level was fantastic. The local playspot called S-bend provided a few hours of playboating entertainment.

After my visit in Potomac I headed for the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte N.C. This engineered whitewater course is something else! It has 2 channels to provide playboating, slalom, and creek race training, not to mention zip lines, mountain biking, and rafting.

I enjoyed a great paddle session with Manager Pablo McCandless, who showed me the facility.

Thanks for the visits.

I am still on the road and there will be more up dates to come..

Tyler Curtis

www.riverplay.ca

The first weekend of Sept. played host to the Ottawa River Festival. With hundreds of kayakers gathered on the Ottawa for the warm water and perfect water levels it was the perfect weekend to host a Freestyle Competition.

All classes had a good number of participants as it was the last days for the OKS Keener Program as well as some of the Kayak Academy’s were present.

The local boys definitely showcased the talent required to throw down some of the biggest and best tricks on the Garb Wave while some of the foreign paddlers had the benefit of a ton of free time to train and learn the feature.

All in all, the event was as good as it gets for producing a freestyle frenzy and epic long weekend of shit talk, big rides, and sunshine.

Here are a few images of my rides in the event.

Enjoy.

Here is an edit of how the WWGP looked for me. It was one of the best experiences in my paddling career yet and is a giant step in the progression of whitewater kayaking. Thanks to everyone who made it happen and for my sponsors who supplied my gear that stood up to the test.

Tyler Curtis

Whitewater Grand Prix Edit from TylerCurtis on Vimeo.

Finally the spring has arrived and the Ottawa River is free of ice and the water levels are high.

It has been a good 2 years since the world famous Bus Eater Wave has come into its prime. I spent the past week stalking the river by walking to the shoreline in front of my house every hour to see what the level was doing…and finally….IT’S IN.

To make things even better I am equipped with Wave Sports new Project X 56. This boat is incredible.

I will let the images speak for themselves…